Many of Hughes poems show that there are many different speakers being used however none so much as ‘Montage of a dream differed’. In this poem, or long set of small poems, we see many different characters sharing their stories with the reader at different times of the day. We see it in the afternoon, then change into the night with neon lights flashing and then into the morning, full of rest and solidarity. This poem is a wide collection of different poems that Hughes produced throughout his lifetime all stuck together and made into one great big giant collaboration of a poem. Hughes did this because he believed it should be this way and all the poems refer to racism, equality, and dreams being put off and holding you back, he thought that grouping them all together with many different speakers would how the reader how racism and oppression affected life at that time. We see throughout ‘montage of a dream deferred’ speaker’s present stories about a number of different experiences, ranging from prostitution, romance, wisdom, and childhood memories, all these different stories let the reader see things from a different point of view.
Most speakers in the poem are different and are not Langston Hughes, however we see in the middle of the montage separating the other poems what seems to be an autobiographical account of Hughes’ childhood and teenage years. The poem is styled along the lines of and essay he wrote whilst studying at university; we can clearly see this with the repetition of ‘I’ throughout the poem.
We also see in this poem that he mentions his ‘sister’, this was a poem written about a sister who is having a sexual relationship other men. Hughes clearly separates and varies the speaker in this poem via the use of italic writing and indentation. For example we see it says
‘I can understand – some decent man?
Did it ever occur to you son?’
Hughes makes it very obvious that the change in speaker this helps create a style of poem that kind of follows the same rules as a conversation, this was very popular at the time because in Harlem it was a very common thing to see in society families and friends sitting on their front steps outside their houses telling each other stories and about what’s gone on in their doorsteps. This quote I have taken here helps us understand the African American experience at the time he was writhing as it shows a lack of respect for the black man who is being addressed, the man talking is clearly of a higher statute or of a different race, this clearly shows that social strata played a huge part in the African American experience at the time.
Another example of uses voices to portray the African American experience at the time that Hughes was writing is in Theme for English B. It says in the poem “The instructor said, Go home and write a page tonight………..I wonder if its that simple?” This clearly shows the different voices being shown; the white man says that it is easy to define who we are and where we belong in society. However the black boy questions the social norms and isn’t sure what to put as he realises that it isn’t as simple as he first thought. This shows white society knows where it belongs, that’s in control of black people, and being there boss. However the black boy represents the black community standing up for what they believe and challenging the white power which is what was happening in the Harlem Renaissance. Another great poem in my opinion that Hughes uses to portray different voices showing different opinions and feelings is the poem ‘Merry go round’ This poem is spoken by a coloured child at a carnival, however if you look at it further you could see it as being the whole black community speaking again. The poem is quite short with a very simple rhythmic beat to it with a steady tempo suggesting that is was written by a child, however some of the content in the poem clearly shows a different voice of a more mature nature. The child is describing events that have taken place in his lifetime and when he visited the fun fair and saw the merry go round, he has come from down south and down there the rules are a lot stricter for segregation than in the north. It was in the south of America where racism was worst, and segregation laws were strictly enforced. For example it says in the text ‘Where’s the horse/ For a kid that’s black?’ this is said right at the end of the poem and this is a very mature thing to be said by a child, therefore showing again the different voices used by Langston Hughes. Hughes makes the reader feels sorry for the child as it is innocent, the child is confused about where to sit because there is not a black section on the merry go round and therefore thinks that they cannot go on it. However looking at this deeper the poem suggests that the racism, the violence, the laws, the segregation was affecting absolutely everyone, the whole community, from the grandparents the children. The voices used show that at this time the whole community was just so oppressed that they couldn’t even have fun at a fun fair without getting anxious about where to go and where to sit. It shows the different perspectives of different people at different maturity levels clearly showing an African American experience at the time.
The way that Hughes decided to use a wide number and range of different voices across his writings helps the reader receive a huge range of his views and beliefs and even different peoples different perspectives. Almost as if each of the different speakers also feel the same way he does, showing that one voice can speak for many. This clearly lets the reader know that the way that Langston Hughes is using the different voice shows that it was widely accepted that racism was bad, all black people wanted it gone and their thoughts could be summed up with one person’s words. One of the poems in which Hughes uses to suggest this is ‘I, too.’ which personally is probably my favourite Hughes poem. Although this poem Is a poem that fundamentally only has one speaker, which is supposedly Langston Hughes himself, it is the most clear example of one voice speaking out for the masses. ‘I, too, sing America’ this shows, a reference to the national anthem, that no matter what race or skin colour, they are still all untied under the fact that they are all American and should all be treated the same. This poem is clearly showing the hatred and bitterness felt by the black community felt towards their white oppressors, for example it says “Nobody'll dare, Say to me, "Eat in the kitchen," this shows that not only is this one man offended by the fact that he is segregated, but he is representing the whole black society when he is saying this, putting it in the speech bubbles shows another voice which is the white oppressors however its is said in a way that shows that the black man has no concern in what the white person has to say.
In conclusion, Langston Hughes uses many different voices to express and show African American experiences at the time he was writing, showing different maturity levels and different points of view on a certain topic within the black community. In my opinion he successfully did so by showing many different examples of racism and white oppression all through the voices of different people varying in gender, age and social status. In my opinion the different styles that Hughes used was very well done, the way that he wrote some in the style of a children’s poem, another in a conversation and another in the style of a essay. I believe that because he was able to capture the key points of so many different people opinions on the topic at that time that it really helps the reader get a good opinion on what African American experience was like at the time.
